He froze in place, around him was nothing but dark liquid that stuck to his body with every fading movement. In the distance he could hear something, not quite sure what it was, though. It was faint, ticking, buzzing and slowly moving from one place to another. What was it? The thought lingered in his thoughts for mere seconds before fading into the thick blackness. His eyes opened, nothing but ticking in the dark to be seen. See the ticking? Yes. Apparently. It was strange, pulsing, not a vision other than the dark, so absurdly familiar. For how long had he been here? The thought surfaced, then disappeared. He couldn't think, ticking. Ticking. Ticking. ticki....tick....tick....